Tobacco firms must not target female smokers

The statement by the Irish Cancer Society that the tobacco companies are “actively targeting” women will not be a surprise. Anyone, smoking or non-smoking people, who has visited any time a pub or smoking zone must be aware of the fact that women make a great part among smoking population.

The study that was shown at a conference held in Dublin on July 4 showed that nowadays lung cancer rather than breast cancer is the main reason of death among women.

Woman inhaling cigarette smoke

This can be considered as an evidence or fact because after some decades when tobacco companies were advertising tobacco products and holding promotion campaigns that were especially targeted at women, rates of female deaths from smoking-related diseases are now almost the same as male death rates.

Not taking account of whether a person is a smoker or not, smoking effects are very dangerous for people’s health. More than half of all smoking people, male or female, will die from a tobacco-related disease while the average smoker can live for at least 10 years less than non-smoking people.

While responsible adult people who have been informed about the risks of smoking have a right to take their own decision on whether to smoke or not, tobacco advertising and promotion campaigns targeted particularly at women, adding color schemes on cigarette packaging, which are in interest for women and attract them, and subliminal references that cigarette smoking somehow help in weight loss or slim cigarettes will keep their beautiful figure, are completely inadmissible.

A democracy that enables people to have the freedom of choice means that smoking people have a right to make their choices and sometimes these choices can be wrong.

But, the tobacco manufacturers have to not be permitted to take advantage from freedom of choice to encourage women smokers that smoking cigarettes is cool or can be a help to slimming.